12.16.2008

Was John Havlicek a San Diego Clipper?

The New York Post reported yesterday that a possible NBA Players Assn. strike was averted on Monday. The issue was the deferred payments owed former Celtics John Havlicek and Charlie Scott by new San Diego owner Donald Sterling. Remember that when Irv Levin and the John Y. Brown-Harry Mangurian combine worked their deal in 1978, the then-Buffalo franchise and the Celtics actually were exchanged. The "trade" involving the likes of Tiny Archibald, Kermit Washington, Marvin Barnes, etc., was not really a trade. In effect, everybody else was traded, not those players. Anyway, the financial obligations for the Havlicek and Scott contracts were passed on to San Diego, which means they now have gone from Mr. Levin to Mr. Sterling. When the most recent Havlicek and Scott payments were late, Players Assn. Executive Director Larry Fleisher, who also happens to be Havlicek's attorney, took action, threatening a general strike over the deferred compensation issue. However, the situation was defused on Monday, and no strike was called.--January 20, 1982
What an insult for Hondo to have ever been on the Clipper's payroll.